Spiral apparatus for the fluid treatment of fabrics in roped form



Aus. 12,1969 G. l. KILGOUR ETAL 3,460,362

SPIRAL APPARATUS FOR THE FLUID TREATMENT OF FABRICS IN ROPED FORM FiledApril 19, 196B 5 sheets-sheet 1 |NvENToRs GILBERT lNNl-:s KILGQURGEORGEEDWARD ZIEGLER m ''Q-m...

W M ATTORNEYS..

Aug E2, E969 G. l. KILGOUR ET AL 304699362 SPIRAL APPARATUS FOR THEFLUID TREATMENT OF FABRICS IN ROPED FORM Filed April 19, 1968 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Bw T6 INVEN'I'ORS GILBERT NNES KILGOUR GEORGEEDWAmZIEGLER ATTORNEYS Aug- 12, 1969 G. 1. KILGOUR ET AL 3,460,362

SPIRAL APPARATUS FOR THE FLUID TREATMENT OF FABRICS IN ROPED FORM FiledApril 19, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS GILBET INNES KILGOUR u] GEORGEEDWARD ZIEGLER ATTORNEY SV Aug. 12,1969

SPIRAL APPARATUS FOR THE FLUID TREATMENT Filed April 19, 1968 c.. l.KILGouR ETAL 3,460,362

OF FABRICS IN ROPED FORM 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 GEORGE EDWARD ZIEGLERATTORNEYS Aug. 12, 1969 G. KILGOUR ET AL 3,460,362

SPIRAL APPARATUS FOR THE FLUID TREATMENT OF FABRICS IN ROPED FORM FiledApril 19, 196s 5 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTORS GILBERT IMES KILGOUR GEORGEEDWARD ZIEBLER ATTORNEYS ite tates U.S. Cl. 68-176 31 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A Spiral Apparatus of the Ziegler et al. type describedin United States Patent No. 3,308,639, granted Mar. 14, 1967 and UnitedStates Patent No. 3,379,494, granted Apr. 23, 1968 wherein a rollerarrangement is provided in association with the spiral guide member andfeed reel to eliminate frictional drag on the roped fabric and means isassociated with the carrier chain to impart a positive detwisting actionto the fabric through the point of attachment of the fabric to thecarrier chain and guide and control and stop means are provided for theloading and operation to be carried out without tangling or fouling ofthe roped fabric on the feed reel or overloading of the apparatus and avariable geometry spiral guide member is provided wherein the number ofturns of the helix of the spiral guide member in the apparatus may bevaried for a particular cloth density and load of fabric.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation-in-part of Ziegler et. al. U.S. application Ser. No.405,888, 'lled Oct. 20, 1964, now United States Patent No. 3,308,639;and of Ziegler et al. U.S. application Ser. No. 630,154 tiled Jan. 11,1967, as a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 405,888and now United States Patent No. 3,379,494 and of Ziegler et al. U.S.application Ser. No. 713,119, tiled Mar. 14, 1968.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present inventiongenerally appertains to new and novel improvements in apparatus forforming a roped fabric helix in a tank, such as a dye-beck or box, withsuch helix being composed of successive spaced apart loops that arerevolved in the tank so as to be continuously treated with a liquid oruid in the tank, either of the open or closed pressure type. Such basicapparatus is disclosed in the foregoing recited Ziegler et al. patentsand applications.

More particularly, the present invention relates to new and novelimprovements in the basic spiral apparatus, particularly in connectionwith guide and control means for eliminating frictional forces betweenthe roped fabric and the spiral guide member and for ensuring properloading of the apparatus, Without tangling or fouling of the ropedfabric and without overloading of the apparatus, and a variable geometryspiral guide member wherein the pitch of the turns or convolutions ofthe helical coil 3,400,302 Patented Aug. 12, 1969 member, whichessentially constitutes the spiral guide member, may be selectivelyvaried and altered for a particular cloth density and load of fabric.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The Ziegler et al. apparatus, as disclosedin the aforementioned patents and applications, essentially comprises amain drive reel which is rotatably mounted in the tank adjacent the rearthereof and above the liquid bath chamber in the bottom of the tank, arotatable spiral guide member or reel mounted in the tank adjacent thefront thereof and disposed parallel with the main reel and an endlesscarrier chain to which the leading end of the roped fabric is attached,with the carrier chain moving in an orbital path vertically about oneend of the adjacent ends of the main reel and the spiral guide member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to new and novelimprovements in the basic spiral apparatus, as disclosed and claimed inthe aforementioned Ziegler et al. patents and applications.

In essence and generally stated, the improvements may be summarized asfollows:

(1) The provision of an idler reel or roller which is mounted forrotation between the end wall supporting structures of the tank andpositioned above the spiral guide member so that its outer face isdisposed in a vertical plane in advance of the plane in which the frontface of the center shaft of the spiral guide member lies, whereby theloops are maintained out of surface contact with the stabilizing andsupporting shaft of the spiral guide member and the fabric travels in amore vertical position in relation to such center shaft of the spiralguide member so that drag reduction is completely eliminated and apossible creasing of the roped fabric is obviated, such creasingresulting in irregular streaking and dyeing of the fabric.

(2) The positioning of one or two driven rollers above and below thespiral guide member in such a manner that the fabric is at most intangential contact with the said supporting and stabilizing shaft of thespiral guide member, such rollers being driven by a drive means from themain drive reel so that the surface speeds of the drive reel and theroller or rollers are identical or nearly identical.

(3) The formation of the helical rodlike or wire member of the spiralguide member from stainless spring steel or other non-corrodibleilexible material, particularly in respect of the spokes supporting thehelix on the center stabilizing and supporting shaft, so that the helixis capable of a degree of lateral distortion so as to disturb the fabricas little as possible from its normal running plane as it leaves the dyebox or chamber in the tank and enters the system of idler or drivenrollers and the spiral guide member.

(4) The provision of a positive de-twisting device in association withthe attachment of the leading end of the fabric to a exible arm or shafton the carrier chain so that with every revolution of the carrier chaina left or right-hand twist is positively inserted in the fabricaccording to Whether the drive is on the left or on the righthand sideof the beck, such being accomplished by a sprocket carried by theflexible shaft and adapted to walk through a fixed rack path and capableof transmitting the de-twisting action positively to the fabric.

(5) The provision of a curved stationary guide bar to cause the ropedfabric to slide into the first pocket of the spiral guide member duringloading or running of the apparatus, as the first loop is being formedby the carrier chain in the pocket of the spiral guide member adjacentto the carrier chain.

(6) The provision of stop and control means in the event of fabricbecoming tangled or fouled on the winch roller or in the event of anerror in the loading of the spiral apparatus and the result of thefabric extending in length beyond the last pocket of the spiral guidemember.

(7) A variable geometry spiral in which two concentric helices aremounted on a supporting shaft and are connected to one another byflexible supporting spokes with the inner helix having a diameter onlyslightly larger than that of the supporting shaft and being slidably androtatably mounted on the supporting shaft and with the outer helix maybe of whatever diameter is required to support and guide the fabric andform the desired diameters of the movable pockets of the spiral guidemember. The concentric system of helices may be constructed fromsuitable non-corrodible spring steel or other flexible material and anumber of turns of the helix in the machine may be selected for aparticular cloth density and load of fabric. The turns of the helix notrequired on a given occasion are held in a storage compartment rotatablymounted on one end Wall structure of the tank. The storage compartmentis designed to allow selected turns of the helix to be released orreturned as required by means of a traveller carried by the compartmentand engagingly operating on the helix.

(8) The provision of a spiral guide member which essentially comprisesan internally unobstructed and unsupported helical coil that isexternally supported and stabilized by a plurality of idler rollersplaced around the circumference thereof in an engagement with the crestsof the convolutions or turns of the helical coil; such may be of avariable geometry type and, therefore, provided in association with astorage compartment situated at one end wall structure of the tank anddesigned to allow selected turns of the helix to be released or returnedas required, whereby the pitch of the helical coil may be varied and,consequently, the Width spacing of the movable pockets defined by theturns or convolutions of the helical coil may be varied in accordancewith various operating conditions, such as a particular cloth densityand load of fabric.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an interior endelevational view of the spiral apparatus embodying the improvements ofthe present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detailed elevational view, showing moreparticularly the provision and relative placement of the idler roller.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing a moditied form ofroller arrangement in association with the spiral guide member.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational view, on an enlarged scale, of thepositive de-twisting arrangement, shown generally in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a detailed transverse cross-sectional view, takensubstantially on line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a detailed front elevational View of an improved form ofspiral guide member, with a portion of the storage compartment for thevariable geometry helix composing the spiral guide member being shown insection in mounted assembly with the supporting end wall structure ofthe tank.

FIGURE 7 is the transverse cross-sectional view, taken substantially online 7 7 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view, taken substantially online 8 8 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view of the modified formof spring-loaded, telescopic spoke connection arrangement between theinner and outer concentric helices of the spiral guide member of FIGURE6.

FIGURE l() is a further modified form of spiral guide member, whichessentially comprises an internally unobstructed helical rod-like orwire member that is externally supported by idler rollers and which isprovided in association with a storage compartment or casing, along thelines of the storage arrangement of FIGURE 6 whereby the pitch of thehelical coil member may be selectively varied.

FIGURE ll is an end elevational view of the roller arrangement of FIGUREl0.

FIGURE l2 is a transverse cross-sectional view, taken substantially online 12-12 of FIGURE l0.

FIGURE 13 is a front elevational view, illustrating a stop control meansin association with the main or feed reel and provided for the purposeof stopping the machine in the event of the roped fabric becomingtangled or fouled on the main reel.

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary top plan view of one end of the spiral guidemember, in accordance with any of the previously disclosed forms, andshowing a stop or control means for preventing over-running of the ropedfabric in the last pocket of the spiral guide member in the event of anerror in the loading of the spiral apparatus or as the result of thefabric extending in length While processing.

FIGURE l5 is a fragmentary detailed plan view of the guide arrangement,shown generally in FIGURE l, and which is provided in association withthe initial or first pocket of the spiral guide member for the purposeof causing the roped fabric to slide into the first section of thespiral guide member during loading or running of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularlyto FIGURES l and 2, the spiral apparatus, generally designated by thenumeral 10, essentially includes a tank 12 having a liquid chamber 14 inits bottom and having opposing end wall structures 16, of which only oneis shown in FIGURE l. The tank has an inwardly and downwardly slopingback wall 18 and a front wall 20 which constitute, along with the endwalls, the liquid bath chamber 14, that is adapted to contain a supplyof suitable treating liquid or fluid.

The tank, shown in the drawings, is of the open type but a closed tankcan be used, which would include a cover for the tank 10 and which wouldbe designed to maintain the treating fluid at elevated temperatures and/or under pressure. The treating fluid can be of any of the known fluidsemployed in scouring, bleaching or dyeing fabrics.

A main reel 22, which is elliptical in cross-section but which can be ofany other suitable cross-section configuration, is mounted for rotationbetween the end wall structures and is positioned towards the back wall18 of the tank above the liquid chamber 14. The main reel 22, whichconstitutes a feed or draw-in roll and which controls the intake speedof the roped fabric moved into the apparatus, is driven by a prime mover(not shown) and is the driver for the roped fabric and for all of theloops being processed.

A spiral guide member or reel 24, which is of the open helical rod-likeor wire formation, is formed and rotatably positioned in the same manneras disclosed in :the Ziegler et al. patents and application.

The spiral guide member is rotatably mounted between the tank end wallsin a horizontal position in the upper portion of 4the tank adjacent tothe front 20 thereof. The spiral guide member is disposed in front ofthe main reel and is positioned in parallelism therewith. The spiralguide member, as shown in FIGURES l and 2, is in the form of a centersupporting and stabilizing shaft 26 around which an open helicalrod-like or wire member 28 is disposed and to which it is attached byradial spokes 30 which are arranged in a spiral coniig'uration. Thespiral guide member, being in `the form of an open helical coil, hasspaced apart turns or convolutions which define movable pockets and thespiral guide member functions, during the loading of the apparatus tank,as a guide means to guidingly space the loops L along the main reel 22in spaced side by side helical arrangement and functions, during theliquid or fluid treating operation of the apparatus, as a rotatableguide or peg rail, in the sense that it rotates about its axis, tomaintain the loops in proper spaced apart order as they are formed andreformed in being revolved through the liquid chamber 14 in a relaxedform in the chamber.

An endless conveyor chain 32 is entrained around guiding sprockets 34,one of which is a driving sprocket, with the sprockets being located inthe arrangement shown in FIGURE I at the tank end wall structurecontains -the drive arrangement. The driving sprocket is driven by adrive arrangement, which is connected to the main reel and which alsodrives the spiral guide member 28 in the manner disclosed in Ziegler etal. Patent No. 3,308,639. The drive arrangement ens-ures the rotation ofthe main reel 22 directly from the prime mover and at controlled surfacespeeds, with the spiral guide member 28 and the chain 32 moving in atimed relationship. The chain is provided with a finger 36 to which theleading end 38, in the form of a short leader cord 0r tape, of the ropedfabric F is attached and the conveyor chain moves about the sprockets 34in an orbital path vertically around the adjacent end of the main reel22 and the spiral guide member 24. The chain reforms the loop while thesuccessive loops are formed, in consequence of such formation, and thesucessive loops are laid up along the lengthwise or axial extent of themain reel 22.

As pointed out in the foregoing, in order to eliminate creasing of thematerial .as the fabric passes up and over the spiral guide member 28 inthe return of the loops to the main reel 22, which crease lines in theroped fabric results in irregular streaking and dyeing of the fabric, anidler reel 40 is provided, in accordance with the present invention. Theidler reel 40 is mounted for free rotation between the end wallsupporting structures and is positioned above the spiral guide member28, as shown more particularly in FIGURE 2. The idler reel 40 is locatedabove the spiral guide member so that its outer or front face 40a isdisposed in a vertical plane in advance of the plane in which the frontface 26a of the center shaft lies. Thus, the front face 40a of the idlerreel 40 is disposed so that the loops L are maintained out of surfacecontact with the stabilizing and supporting shaft 26 and the fabrictravels in a more vertical position in relation to the center shaft 26of the spiral guide member. In this fashion, drag reduction issubstantially eliminated .and the creasing condition is obviated.

The location of the idler reel 40 to the center shaft 26 of the spiralguide member is such that the face or outer surface 40a of the idlerreel 4i) receives the loop fabrics L in a position as to hold the fabricslightly away from the center shaft 26a and the spiral member but not tothe extent to allow the fabric to pass radially beyond the verticalpockets defined by the convolutions or helical turns of the rod-like orwire member, that is, outwardly past the crests of the helical turns orconvolutions of the wire member 28. With reference to FIGURE 3, a drivenroller supporting arrangement is shown. As illustrated, the sameessentially includes either an upper driven roller 42 and/or a lowerdriven roller 44. The roller 42 is disposed above the spiral guide-member or reel 24 with its outer or front face 42a lying in a verticalplane in advance of the plane in which the front face 26a of thesupporting shaft 26 for the spiral guide member lies. The lower roller44 is disposed well below the spiral guide member and is positioned justslightly above the liquid chamber 14 with its outer or front face 44a inline with the face 42a of the upper roller 42.

By providing the upper and lower driven rollers or even by providing oneof the rollers, it has been found that friction will not result betweenthe textile material and the supporting shaft 26 of the spiral guidemember and, consequently, chaing or rubbing of the `fabric will becompletely eliminated. The upper and lower rollers are positioned aboveand below the spiral guide member in such a manner that the fabric isout of contact with the shaft 26 of the spiral guide member or, at most,is only in tangential contact with the outer face 26a of the shaft 26.

The rollers 42 and 44 are rotatably mounted between the end wallsupporting structures and disposed parallel with the main reel 22 andthe spiral guide member 24.

The rollers 42 and 44 are provided at one of their ends with pulleys 48and 50 and are driven by a V-belt 52 which is entrained around a pulley54 on the end supporting shaft 22a of the main or feed reel 22.

In place of the feed belt pulley drive, suitable gearing from the shaft22a supporting the main reel or feed reel may be provided. In any event,the rollers 44 and 42, which serve to guide the loops below and abovethe pockets of the spiral guide member and maintain the rope fabric outof damaging contact with the surface of the shaft 26a of the spiralguide member, are driven by the main reel so that they have surfacespeeds which are identical or nearly identical with the main reel.

In connection with the handling of delicate fabrics, such as crete,voiles and cloqus, which have low cloth densities or low specificvolumes in the wet state, frictional forces between the wet fabric andthe rod-like or wire helical coil 2S or the spokes 30 connecting theturns to the center stabilizing shaft 26, may be considerably reduced byconstructing or fabricating the helical coil member and the spokes ofstainless spring steel or other noncorrodible flexible material. This isparticularly so in respect of the spokes 30 supporting the metal helicalcoil on the shaft so that the helical coil is capable of a moderatedegree of lateral distortion. In other words, the individual pocketsthrough which the loops pass are defined by opposing and spaced apartturns, as shown in FIGURE l5. As shown therein, the helical turns arecapable of a moderate degree of lateral distortion, relative to thelongitudinal axis of the supporting shaft so as to disturb the fabric aslittle as possible from its normal running plane as it leaves the bottomchamber 14 and enters the system of idler or driven rollers as shown inFIGURES 2 and 3, and the spiral guide member and passes on to the feedor main reel 22.

It has been found that the carrier chain 32 in making one circuit of themain reel 22, the spiral guide member 24 and the driven or idler rollerarrangements of either FIGURES 2 and 3, tends to insert a twist into thefabric, during the formation of the loop as disclosed more particularlyin Ziegler et al. Patent No. 3,308,639. This insertion of twist into thefabric, which is caused by the formation of the loop, may be accentuatedor minimized by the natural tendency of certain fabrics on account ofthe woven or knitted construction thereof to twist` Fabrics of twill orgabardine construction are notorious in this respect and causeconsiderable problems whicl usually take the form of streaky or unevendyeing or dye: which penetrates into the yarn of fiber. In order to obviate this, it is proposed to provide with every circuit 0 the carrierchain a positive detwisting action to the fabri` at the point ofattachment of the leading end 38 of th roped fabric to the carrierchain. With every revolutio of the carrier chain a left or right handtwist is inserte into the fabric according to whether the drive is on thleft or on the right hand side of the tank. As shown i FIGURE l, andmore particularly FIGURES 4 and means is provided so that a positivedetwisting actic is imparted through the fabric to the point of attacment of the fabric to the carrier chain. In this regar the terminal endof the leading end 38 of the roped fabr is attached by an eye 60 to thefree end of a curved i arcuate flexible arm or shaft 62. The oppositeend the flexible shaft 62 is fixed by a collar 64 to one end a hollowshaft 66 on which a sprocket 65 is xedly c cumposed, as by welding 70. Apin 72 is disposed throu` the axial 'bore 74 of the hollow shaft and hasits inner end anchored by -a nut 76 Within the counter-bored inner endof the shaft that is surrounded by the collar 64. The pin 72 is freelyrotatable within the hollow shaft and has its opposite end xed to one ofthe links 32a of the chain, as shown in FIGURE 5. 'Ihe sprocket 68 isadapted to move through a pathway defined by .a fixed rack 76 and laconfronting bar 78 with the upper surface 80 of in spaced relation thedepending xed teeth 82 of the overhead rack. The chain passes between 80and 82, as shown in FIGURE 4, and

walks along the xed rack and moves on full 360 rotational movement totwist the shaft 62 one complete turn. The arm 62 is exible and capableof transmitting the detwisting action positively to the fabric. Theexible arm is constructed from suitable noncorrodible material orflexible metal.

A left or right hand twist may be inserted by positioning the rack 76above or below the carrier chain. As in FIGURE 4, the rack is positionedabove the chain, but the rack could be below the carrier chain. Theplacement of the rack relative to the carrier chain, that is whetherabove or below it, entails the positive insertion of .a left or righthand twist in the fabric loop.

Attention is now directed to FIGURES 6 through 9, wherein a variablegeometry spiral guide member 84 is illustrated. The spiral guide member84 includes a center supporting and stabilizing shaft 86 which isrotatably positioned between the end wall supporting structures 16, inthe same placement relative to the main reel 22 and the tank walls .andbottom chamber as the spiral guide member 24 of FIGURES 1 and 3, whichillustrate the same in accordance with the disclosures in the Ziegler etal. Patent No. 3,308,639 and the Ziegler et al. copending applicationSer. No. 713,119, filed Mar. 14, 1968.

The spiral guide member includes the helical rodlike or wire member 88which is attached by radial spokes 90 to .an inner helical rodlike orwire member 92 that is rotatably slidably circumposed directly on thesurface of the shaft 86 in sliding bearing engagement thereof. The turnsof the inner coil 92 complement the turns of the outer or operative coil88, which defines the movable pockets, in stabilizing and supportingouter wire member 88 on the supporting shaft 86. The inner and outerconcentric rodlike or wire members 92 and 88 are attached to an endplate 94, which in turn is attached to an end plate 96 on a drive shaft98 whereby the spiral guide member 84 is rotated.

The concentric system of helices may be constructed from suitablenon-corrodible spring steel or other flexible material and the number ofturns of the helix in the machine may be selected for a particular clothdensity and load of fabric. In other words, the pitch of the helical`wire member 88 may be varied in accordance with operating conditions,particularly with relation to cloth density and load of fabric. Bychanging the pitch, the distance between the turns is altered or variedso that width spacing of the movable pockets 100, which are :onstitutedor dened by the adjoining convolutions or urns of the outer helicalmember 88, is altered and taried under different operating conditions.

In order to accomplish this, a cylindrical storage barel or casing 102is provided at the end wall structure apposite the driving shaft 98, asshown in FIGURE 6. The cylindrical storage barrel or casing 102 isrotatably nounted within a sealing bearing arrangement .104 which iprovided in .an opening 106 in the end wall structure pposite to thedriving shaft end wall structure. The ":orage barrel 102 has an openinner end 108 which ices into the interior of the tank and is formedwith closed outer end wall 110 around which a hand Wheel 112 ispositioned in order to enable the barrel to be rotated manually withinthe bearings 104. The shaft 86 extends centrally through the barrel andthrough a center opening 114 in the closed end thereof. The shaftextends through a collar 116 iixed by a pin 118 on the shaft so as tolocate the shaft in position relative to the end .110 of the barrelcasing or housing. The exterior end portion 120 of the shaft isexteriorly threaded to receive a jam nut 122 that is provided with ahand Wheel 124 for rotating it.

The open inner end of the cylindrical storage barrel casing orcompartment 102 is provided at its periphery with an inwardly directedradial nger 126 ywhich is in constant engagement with the turns orconvolutions of the helical rodlike or wire member 88.

The cylindrical storage barrel or casing 102 is provided, adjacent itsopen end, with an outwardly extending, radially disposed bearingshoulder or flange 128 which is adapted to engage the outer surface ofthe supporting end wall structure so as to locate the casing and preventthe casting from being drawn inwardly of the supporting end wallstructure under the inward pull exerted on the linger 126 `by the storedturns or convolutact therewith.

It can be appreciated, Iwith consideration of FIGURE 6, that the pitchof the helical wire member 88 may be easily varied so as to vary thewidthwise spacing of the pockets 100 within which the loops of ropedfabric are positioned. In o-rder to decrease or increase the pitch and,consequently, the width of the pockets 100, it is only necessary torelease the jam nut 122, so that the barrel casing 102 can be rotatedrelative to the supporting and stabilizing shaft 86, that is heldagainst rotation by the driving shaft, which, in turn, is in astationary relationdrive arrangement. By releasing the jam nut 122 thecasing can then be rotated, either clockwise or counter-clockwise, aboutthe shaft and, dependent upon the direction of rotation, the linger ortraveller 126 will draw in or release from the storage casing, thedesired number of turns -or convolutions of the helical wire member 88.Obviously, since the supporting inner concentric relationship.

If found necessary, the spokes may be formed in telescopic fashion, asshown in FIGURE 9, with the spokes 90a of FIGURE 9 including an outertubular member 91 and an inner `solid rod 93 with a spring 94 beinginterposed therebetween. Thus, the spokes 90a are telescopic andspring-loaded so that the crests of the outer helical member 88 willremain the wise stated, the diameters of the turns or convolutions ofsuch helical member will remain constant, irrespective of the spacingbetween the turns or the pitch of the turns.

It can be appreciated that by virtue of such arrangement, as illustratedin FIGURES 6 through 8, the operating portion of the spiral guidemember, between the opposing end wall supporting structures, can beselectively changed in the sense that the pitch of the helical membercan be varied, and consequently, the width spacing of the pockets can bevaried, dependent upon operating circumstances and conditions,particularly with relation to cloth density and load of fabric.

In this regard, the following table and formula will prove of value,since the table shows the relationship between the number ofconvolutions in the lhelix constituting the spiral guide member and thecapacity of the dye beck and strand length. The table takes intoconsideration the volume and length of the tank or box, the

liquor ratio, the maximum weight of the fabric being treated and thelength of strand.

SPIRAL DYEING DEVICE Specication.-Volurne ofbox (V) 6,000 litres, liquorratio (R) 15:1, maxfirium weight of fabric (W) 400 kg., length of box(L) 400 cm., length of strand (S) metres Weight of fabric in gm./r.metre (Wi) 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 No. of metres in loacl4,000 2, 667 2, 000 1, 600 l, 334 1, 144 1, 000 890 800 No. of strands50 34 25 20 17 15 12 1l 10 Pitch of spiral! (om) i 7. 7 11. 1 14. 8 18.2 21. l 23.6 28. 6 30.8 33. 3

l Allowing l for start and 1 for huish L Formula: Pitch of Spu'al (P)cII1.=--- v X 1000 X 1) 1 o R Wf S J A modied form of spiral guidemember 130 is illustrated in FIGURES through l2 and is mounted betweenthe end wall supporting structures 132 and 134 in the same position asthe spiral guide member of FIG- URE 1 and FIGURE 6 and in the samerelationship with the main or drive reel and the carrier chain, asdepicted in FIGURE 1 in connection with the spiral guide member 24. Thespiral glide member 130 is in the nature of an internally unsupportedand an unobstructed helical rodlike or wire member that is connected atone end to an end plate 138 which is carried by the drive shaft 143. Thespiral guide member 130 is externally supported by stabilizing andbearing rolle-rs 142 and 144 and 146 disposed around the circumferencethereof. The rollers are arranged in a triangular pattern, as shown inFIG- URES 11 and 12 and are idler rollers in their frictional andstabilizing engagement with the c-rests of the turns or convolutions ofthe helical coil member 1341.

The rollers 142 and 144 extend between the supporting end wallstructures 132 and 134 and have coaxially reduced ends which extendthrough suitable openings in the supporting end wall structures andwhich are rotatably journaled in bear-ing boxes 148 mounted on theexterior surfaces of the end wall structures and provided withadjustable spring loading arrangements d. In this manner, the rollersare rotatably mounted for free wheeling disposition in surface contactwith the crests of the rotating spiral coil, which is rotated throughthe drive shaft 140 and the rollers bear on the crests of the turns orconvolutions, irrespective of the diameter thereof, since there may be apossibility of the diameter slightly changing in accordance with thespread apart or closely grouped arrangement of the turns orconvolutions, by virtue of the accordion-like movement of the spiral orhelical coil member between the supporting end wall structures.

The front roller 146 is similarly supported at the end wall structure132 by a spring-loaded bearing arrangement 152 but its opposing endterminates inwardly of the end wall structure 134, adjacent the carrierchain and the drive arrangement so that the first or initial pocket 1000of the helical coil member is unobstructed to enable the carrier chainto form and reform the loop in the normal operation of the apparatus, asdisclosed in the recited Ziegler et al. patents and application.Consequently, the end of the front external supporting roller 146 isrotatably mounted in a spring-loaded bearing box 154 that is supportedon a bracket 156 which is mounted on the front wall (not shown) of thetank or dye box.

As in the instance of the variable geometry spiral guide member 84,illustrated in FIGURES 6 through 8, the pitch of the convolutions of thehelical coil member 130 can be varied and, for this purpose, acylindrical storage casing or compartment 158 is provided and is formedwith a grooved inner end portion 160 that is rotatably mounted on anannular bearing surface opening 162 of a mounting housing 164 that isprovided with a mounting ange 166 bolted to the exterior of thesupporting side wall structure 132. The opposite end of the with a xedcollar 172 tted thereon and adapted to engage the inner surface of theend wall so as to prevent the shaft from being withdrawn from thecasing. The inner end 174 of the shaft is provided with an outwardlyprojecting, radial linger or traveller 176 that is in constantengagement with the turns or convolutions of the helical coil member, asshown in FIGURE 10. The shaft 170 has an outer end portion 178 which isexteriorly threaded so as to receive a jam nut 182 that is provided witha yhand wheel 184. The outer end portion 178 of the shaft carries afixed operating hand wheel 186 and the outer end of the casing is formedwith a hand wheel 188.

It can be appreciated that when the jam nut is tightened against thefixed external collar 190 on the outer end wall of the casing, thecasing will rotate with the helical coil and the stored turns orconvolutions in the casing will rotate as a unit with the extendedoperating turns disposed between the end wall structures 132 and 134 andactually making up or composing the spiral guide member. By releasingthe jam nut, it can be appreciated that the shaft 170 will be free torotate relative to the casing and by turning the shaft in either aclockwise or counter-clockwise direction the turns or convolutions ofthe helical coil member will be drawn into or released from the storagecasing so as to advance out between the end wall structures or withdrawnfrom between the end wall structures a certain number of turns orconvolutions of the helical coil membber. In this manner, the geometryof the spiral guide member may be varied depending upon operatingconditions, such as fabric density and bulk weight and other factors inconnection with the liquid scouring, treating or dyeing of the fabric inthe beck or box.

The casing end of the helical coil member or spiral guide member 130 canbe directly driven by a drive takeofr" arrangement from the drivearrangement for the drive shaft 140, such drive take-off arrangementbeing coordinated with the drive shaft rotation so that both ends of thespiral guide member would be positively driven in the event that theload of the casing should prove to be too much for the drive shafttransmitted through the coil and interfere with the desired timedrotation of the spiral guide member 130 with the carrier chain.

Also, it is to be understood that the spiral guide member can beprovided at both ends with end plates, one of which would be driven bythe drive shaft and the other of which would be rotatably mounted on theend wall without the casing, that is, without the means for varying thepitch thereof.

As shown generally in FIGURE 1 and, more particularly in FIGURE l5, acurved stationary guide bar 192 is provided adjacent the initial or rstpocket 101m of the spiral guide member, irrespective of the make-up orcomposition of the spiral guide member. The guide bar 192 is slantedupwardly and outwardly from the liquid chamber 14 toward the front wall20 below the first or initial pocket of the spiral guide member, asshown in FIGURE 1 and, as shown in FIGURE 15, is disposed from the innersurface of the end wall structure or from the end wall structure to thefront wall of the tank and is positioned so that the arcuate protrusionthereof underlies the initial pocket and is engaged by the forming loopas it is being drawn by the carrier chain. The forming loop engages thecurved stationary guide bar to cause the fabric to slide into the firstpocket of the spiral guide member during loading of the apparatus orduring the processing of the formed loops.

Attention is now directed to FIGURE 13 wherein control means is providedfor operation in the event of the roped fabric becoming tangled orfouled on the winch roller. As shown in more detail in FIGURE 13 andgenerally in FIGURE 1, the control means comprises a double cranked bar194 which is rotatably mounted in the end wall supporting structure 16vof the tank at the drive end of the apparatus and which has a long shankor rod portion 196 that is positioned below the main reel. The outer endof the double crank bar 194 is adapted to engage a limit switch 198,which is operative to give either an audible or visual warning inaddition to stopping the machine fby shutting down the prime mover forthe drive arrangement of the type disclosed in the Ziegler et al.patents.

As illustrated in FIGURE 13, the limit switch is disposed externally ofthe tank. The bar 196 is disposed below the lowermost portion of themain reel, in its rotational movements, and is designed to be engaged bythe loop or loops which may tend to adhere by cohesion to the surface ofthe main reel instead of dropping down directly therefrom to the slopedbottom wall 14 as shown in FIGURE 1. Under ideal operating conditions,the loops will drop away from the surface of the rotating main reel, asshown in FIGURE 1. But under some malfunctioning conditions, the ropedfabric may become tangled or fouled on the surface of the main reel and,under these conditions, the essential apparatus should immediately bestopped, or warning should be given to the operator of the danger, assoon as possible. By positioning the arm 196 below the main reel, asshown in FIGURE 1, and in greater detail in FIGURE 13, and especiallyutilizing the same with the limit switch 198, it can be appreciated thatthe `danger of the apparatus operating with one or more of the loopstangled or fouled on the main reel is obviated.

In the event of an error in the loading of the spiral apparatus or asthe result of the roped fabric extending in length in the processing, itis desirable that the apparatus be immediately shut down so as toprevent overruns of fabric on the machine. Thus, as illustrated in FIG-'URE 14, in the event that loops should pile up in the last pocket 100bof the spiral guide member, the piled up loops will tend to engage andact upon a lever 200, which is freely pivoted on a supporting bracket202 projecting internally from the adjacent end wall supportingstructure 16. The free end of the pivoted arm 200 carries an externallyprojecting linger 202 that slides through a suitable opening in the endwall structure 16 and is operative to activate at its outer end alimited switch 204 which is operative, in a manner well known in theart, to act directly upon the prime mover for the drive arrangement andde-energize the same while either giving an audible or visual warning.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for treating textile fabrics in rope form comprising a tankhaving opposing end walls and a bottom liquid chamber, a drive main reelrotatably mounted in the tank horizontally above the chamber for drawingroped fabric into the tank in the formation of a cloth helix andrevolving loops of the helix after formation thereof, a spiral guidemember rotatably mounted in the tank horizontally above the chamber andin spaced parallel relation with the drive main reel, said spiral guidemember having movable pockets for guiding the fabric in spaced loops onthe drive main reel, a carrier disposed at one end wall of the tank andmovable in a vertical orbital path around the adjacent ends of the drivemain reel and spiral guide member and having means whereby the leadingend of the rope fabric is swivelly attached thereto and carried therebyaround the ends of the drive main reel and the spiral guide member, saiddrive main reel and the spiral guide member being rotated and thecarrier being revolved in timed relation with the spiral guide member sothat the roped fabric helix is formed in spaced apart loops around thespiral guide member and the drive main reel with a loop being formed bythe carrier in relation to the drive main reel and the spiral guide andwith the laid-up loops being revolved by the drive main reel and beingguided by the sipral guide member, and at least one roller disposedhorizontally in the tank and positioned adjacent to and parallel withthe spiral guide member and over which the formed loops are supportinglypassed in their movement relative to the spiral guide member so that theroped fabric is maintained in perpendicular relation to the spiral guidemember as the loops move through the pockets thereof.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said roller is mounted for freerotation and is positioned above the spiral guide member so that theouter face is disposed in a vertical plane to receive the loops passingupwardly from the spiral guide member and maintain the loops in avertical position in relation to the spiral guide member, said rollerbeing driven solely by the traction of the loops passing thereon.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said spiral guide member is composedof a helical wire member and a center stabilizing and supporting shafton which the helical wire member is supportingly disposed, said rollerbeing located so that its front face lies in a vertical plane disposedforwardly of the front face of the supporting shaft for the spiral guidemember whereby the fabric loops travel in a vertical position inrelation to the supporting shaft of the spiral guide member and aremaintained at most in tangential contact with the supporting shaftmember while still being positioned within the pockets defined by theconvolutions of the helical wire member.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spiral guide member is composedof a center supporting and stabilizing shaft and a helical wire membercoiled around and attached to the shaft 'by supporting spoke elements,the convolutions of the helical wire member defining the movablepockets, said roller being disposed above the spiral guide member andbeing driven by the drive reel so that the surface speeds of the rollerand drive reel are substantially identical.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein two rollers are provided, one rollerbeing disposed above and the other roller being disposed below thespiral guide member, said spiral guide member being composed of asupporting shaft and a helical wire member coiled around and attached tothe shaft with the convolutions of the wire member deiining the movablepockets of the spiral guide member, said rollers being positioned aboveand below the spiral guide member with the front faces of the rollerslying in substantially the same vertical plane and forwardly of thefront face of the supporting shaft, said rollers being driven by thedrive reel so that the surface speeds of the rollers and the drive reelare substantially identical.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein means is pro vided for imparting tothe roped fabric through the point of attachment of the fabric to thecarrier a positive detwisting action with every complete circuit of thecarrier around the drive reel and the spiral guide member.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said carrier is composed of anendless chain having means projecting laterally therefrom at one pointthereon and directed inwardly toward the ends of the main reel and thespiral guide member and to which the leading end of the roped fabric isattached, said means including a shaft assembly having means fordirectly receiving the leading end of the roped fabric, a sprocketiixedly circumposed on the shaft assembly, a pin rotatably supportingvthe shaft and attached to the carrier chain and a fixed rack passagewayarrangement through which the carrier chain moves and carries thesprocket so that the sprocket makes one complete revolution and revolvesthe shaft assembly one complete revolution whereby a twist is impartedto the shaft assembly and transmitted positively to the roped fabric.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said positive detwisting meanscomprises a flexible shaft attached to the carrier and to which theleading end of the roped fabric is attached, said shaft having a tixedlyrelated sprocket, a iixed rack arrangement over which the sprocket moveswith an interengaging relation as the carrier makes one completerevolution so that the sprocket imparts a positive revolution movementto the shaft which is transmitted by the shaft directly to the fabric.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spiral guide member includes ahelical wire member having spaced apart convolutions, the convolutionsdefining the movable pockets with one of the pockets being disposedadjacent to the carrier and adapted to receive the loop formed by therevolutionary movement of the carrier around the ends of the drive reeland the spiral guide member and a curved stationary guide bar carried bythe tank and disposed angularly below the first pocket of the helicalcoil so as to cause the roped fabric to slide positively into theinitial pocket as the loop is formed by the carrier.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spiral guide member iscomposed of a supporting shaft and a helical coil member capable of amoderate degree of lateral distortion mounted on the shaft by radialspokes.

11. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein the spokes are formed fromnon-corrodible exible material.

12. Apparatus of claim 10 wherein the wire member and the spokes areformed from non-corrodible flexible material.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a stop control means is provided inassociation with the main reel for stopping operation of the apparatusin the event of the roped fabric becoming tangled on the main reel.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said stop control means includes adouble cranked bar disposed below the main reel and having an outer endrotatably mounted through one end wall of the tank and a swinging armcarried by the outer end and a limit switch adapted to be engaged by theswinging arm.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a sensing member is mounted in thelast pocket of the spiral guide member and a limit switch is activatedby said sensing member so as to prevent over-runs of fabric on theapparatus by stopping operation of the apparatus in the event ofoverloading of the last pocket.

16. The apparatus of claim 1l5 wherein said sensing member comprises alever pivotally carried by the end wall of the tank and having a freeend, an arm carried by said free end and slidably extending through theend wall to actuate the limit switch, said arm being disposed throughthe end of the last pocket of the spiral guide member.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spiral guide member includes asupporting shaft having two concentrically related wire members mountedthereon and including an inner and an outer helical wire member, saidinner and outer wire members 'being connected together by radial spokes,said inner member being slidably and rotatably disposed on the shaft andsaid outer wire member being radially spaced outwardly from the innermember and the turns of said outer helical member defining the movablepockets of the spiral guide member and means for varying the pitch ofthe helical wire members.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said spokes are of telescopicspring-loaded construction.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said means for varying the pitchof the concentric helical wire members includes a cylindrical storagecasing rotatably mounted on one end wall of the tank and having an openinner end in communication with the interior of the tank, said shaftextending centrally through the casing and said casing having an outerend through which the shaft extends, locking means for releasably fixingthe casing to the shaft for rotation therewith and for releasing thecasing for independent rotation on the shaft and means carried on theinner end of the casing for operating on the outer helical wire memberin drawing the helical members into and releasing the helical membersfrom the storage casmg.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said means 0n the inner end of thecasing includes a xed traveller extending radially inwardly from thecasing and disposed in constant engagement with the convolutions of theouter helical member.

21. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spiral guide member comprisesa helical wire member and a plurality of supporting rollers disposedabout the circumference of the helical wire member in stabilizing andsupporting engagement with the crests of the convolutions of the wiremember.

22. The apparatus of claim '21 wherein said rollers are spring mountedand are resiliently urged into engagement with the crests.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein one of said idler rollers isdisposed at the front of the helical wire member and terminates beforethe first pocket of the helical Wire member so that the first pocketadjoining the carrier is unobstructed.

24. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said idler rollers are disposed ina triangular pattern and include at least three rollers comprising anupper, a back and a front roller, said upper and back rollers beingrotatably journaled in the end walls of the tank and the front rollerbeing journaled in one end wall and bein-g spaced from the other endwall at the initial pocket of the spiral guide member and being carriedby the front wall of the tank so that the initial pocket isunobstructed, said front roller functioning also to maintain the loopsin position in the pockets to prevent radial outward withdrawal of theloops from the pockets.

25. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein one end of the helical wire memberis attached to an end plate, said end plate being connected to a drivingshaft and means is provided in association with the opposite end of thehelical wire member for varying the pitch of the helical wire memberbetween the end walls of the tank.

26. In an apparatus for treating textile fabrics in roped formcomprising a tank having opposing end walls and a bottom liquid chamber,a main reel rotatably mounted in the tank horizontally above thechamber, a spiral guide member rotatably mounted in the tankhorizontally above the chamber in spaced parallel relation with the mainreel, an endless carrier disposed at one end of the tank and movable ina vertical orbital path around the adjacent ends of the main reel andthe spiral guide member and having means whereby the leading end of theroped fabric is attached thereto and carried thereby around the ends ofthe main reel and the spiral guide member, the improvement wherein saidspiral guide member includes a supporting shaft rotatably mountedbetween the end walls and a helical wire member coiled around the shaftand having convolutions defining movable pockets for guiding the fabricin formed loops around the drive reel, means attaching one end of theshaft to a driving arrangement for rotating the shaft in timed relationwith the carrier and means operatively connected with the opposite endof the shaft and engaging the helical wire member for varying the pitchof the convolutions.

27. The invention of claim 26 wherein said helical wire member isexpandable and is mounted on the shaft by an inner expandable helicalwire member concentrically related therewith and slidably and rotatablybearing on the supporting shaft, radial spokes connecting the inner 15and outer helical Wire members and said means for varying the pitch ofthe convolutions including a storage casing rotatably mounted in one endwall of the tank and adapted to store convolutions of the helical memberand having a traveler engaging the outer helical member, said storagecompartment being selectively rotatable relative to the helical wiremember and shaft and being rotatable in xed relation with the shaft.

28. A spiral guide member for an apparatus for treating textile fabricsin roped form, which apparatus comprises a tank having opposing endwalls between which the spiral guide member is rotatably mounted inrelationship with a parallel drive reel, said spiral guide membercomprising a shaft rotatably mounted between the end walls and avariable geometry helical wire member coiled around and supported on theshaft and means for varying the pitch of the helical wire member.

29. A spiral guide member for an apparatus for treating textile fabricsin roped form which apparatus comprises a tank having opposing end wallsbetween which the spiral guide member is rotatably mounted inassociation with a parallel main reel, said spiral guide membercomprising a helical wire member disposed between the end walls andbeing internally unobstructed and idler rollers disposed around thecircumference of the helical wire member and supporting the helical Wiremember in stabilizing and supporting engagement with the crests of theconvolutions of the helical wire member.

30. The invention of claim 29 including means for varying the pitch ofthe helical wire member.

31. Apparatus for treating textile fabrics in roped form comprising latank having opposing end walls and a bottom liquid chamber, a drive reelrotatably mounted in the tank horizontally above the chamber for drawingroped fabric into the tank in the formation of a cloth helix andrevolving loops of the helix after formation thereof through the bottomliquid chamber, a variable geometry spiral guide member rotatablymounted in the tank horizontally above the chamber and in spacedparallel relation with the main reel for guiding the fabric in formedloops around the drive reel, a carrier disposed at one end of the tankand movable in a vertical orbital path around the adjacent ends of themain reel and the spiral guide member and having means whereby theleading end of the roped fabric is swivelly attached thereto and carriedthereby around the ends of the drive reel and the spiral guide member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,148,611 2/1939 Ferranti 8-151.l2,393,471 1/ 1946 Johnson. 3,308,639 3/ 1967 Ziegler et al 68-176WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XR.

Patent No.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Dated August l2,1969 It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patentand that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column Column ColumnColumn L 453ML) Attest:

line 6,

line 13,

line l5,

line l2,

line 54,

line l5,

line 43,

line 45,

line 59,

line 14,

lines l0 Edward M. Fletcher, m.

Atlestng Officer "helices" after "structure", insert --that--g "26a and"should be --26 of--y "on should be --one;

"withdrawn" should be withdraw7 "membber" should be member7 "limited"should be limit;

"sipral" should be -spiraly and 13, "main" should be -drive SIGNED ANI)SEALE MAY 121970 IXL'QIAM E. fSGHUlIJER, JR zlommissioner o1. Patents

